HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — When Japanese companies first began manufacturing in this country, many people smiled at oddities like pre-work exercise. But analysts were struck with the efficiency of the Japanese management style. Now, the Koreans are coming, setting up their own factories and bringing their version of management ``harmony.``

Dozens of South Korean corporations have opened offices in the United States, and two have begun manufacturing operations. The Lucky-Goldstar Group opened a color TV factory in Huntsville 1/2 years ago and is now bustling with expansion plans. Last fall the Samsung Group also began producing color TVs in Roxbury Township, N.J.

The Korean management style is similar to the much better known Japanese approach, although experts say the Koreans are often more willing to blend their techniques with American methods. Korean management aims to foster a family atmosphere in which employees interact freely with executives and share a strong commitment to the company`s success.

Acting more as a gentle patriarch than as president of the Gold Star of America plant, P.W. Suh has taken charge of the delicate task of grafting Korean management principles onto Dixie.

``You wouldn`t believe what Gold Star does for us,`` said Rachel Cothren, pausing from her job on the assembly line. ``My husband was in the hospital for major surgery, and some of the management came and sat with me through that. Mr. Suh came and stayed with me in intensive care and brought books and magazines.``

This carefully cultivated image of a friendly, caring company of one happy family typifies the Korean management style. But the friendship is not for nothing. It is intended to keep unions at bay and to foster a loyalty and enthusiasm in the work force that will generate more TVs per hour than American management can.

One measure of its success is a daily absenteeism rate at Gold Star that averages 1 percent, compared with 5 percent in American companies.

The idea is to import not Korean TVs but Korean management methods. These methods are associated with an economic miracle that produced even faster economic growth in South Korea over the last 25 years than in Japan and three times faster than that in the United States.

The principal weapon is its management philosophy, what the Koreans call inhwa, or harmony. Even in South Korea, Lucky-Goldstar is an exemplar of this philosophy.

``If we are in a hurry, we may ask employees for special consideration to do things differently,`` said D.H. Koo, president of overseas operations for the Lucky-Goldstar Group, explaining the Korean approach. ``And they will oblige. But in the U.S., maybe they do not care that there is a hurry.``

Koo and his colleagues in the Lucky-Goldstar board rooms want employees at the Huntsville plant to care, and so they are trying to transplant inhwa. ``I expect dedication and loyalty in the future, if we help our family,`` Suh said of his work force.

Telling employees about company goals, and even asking for help, are cardinal principles of Gold Star. ``Family meetings,`` for all of the staff, are held monthly, and quality discussions are scheduled for every two weeks.

In addition, bonuses are used to build enthusiasm. About three days a week, workers get a bonus -- an hour of overtime pay -- if their assembly line has increased output while maintaining quality levels. Employees also get $50 in cash if they do not miss a day of work for three months.

Similar management methods are used at the other Korean manufacturing plant in the United States, Samsung`s in Roxbury Township. The employees are also called a family, and interaction between workers and executives is stressed.

The Korean and styles derive from the Confucian ethic that stresses politeness, cooperation, deference and subordination of the individual to larger goals.

Like the Japanese, the Koreans are coming to the United States largely because of fear that protectionist rules could keep out their exports. In February 1984, the Commerce Department ruled that Korean electronics companies were dumping -- or selling for less than fair value -- color TV sets in the United States. Gold Star is now required to post cash deposits of 7.4 percent of the value of its shipments, although the final assessments may vary from that.

But in coming to America, the Koreans are also facing tough price competition. Although 1983 and 1984 were boom years for color TVs, with about 16 million units sold last year, price competition has been severe.

Although imports have been a major reason for the price competition, three out of four TV sets sold in the United States are still made here. About 23 manufacturers continue to produce sets in the United States -- even foreign companies, like Sony. Many factories, like Gold Star`s, get 40 percent of their components from abroad, so that the U.S. operations are mostly an assembly of parts.

One frustration for Gold Star is that because it lacks name recognition and a reputation, it has to sell at lower prices than its competition. Gold Star sells its TVs under its own name and under private brand names like Montgomery Ward, General Electric and K mart.

Notwithstanding the competition, Gold Star seems to be happy with its American experience. Since opening the factory in Huntsville, Gold Star has doubled its capacity and plans soon to add microwave ovens, computers and video cassette recorders.